Pune: In response to Maratha activist Manoj Jarange’s call of agitation from Aug 29, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the govt will not work under anybody’s pressure and it will continue to take decisions as per the constitutional provisions.Accusing state govt of deliberately delaying the process of issuing Kunbi certificates to members of the Maratha community found eligible as per the records in historic gazettes, Jarange has called for a statewide ‘final’ agitation from Aug 29. He has given the state govt a deadline of Aug 28 to accept all his demands and ahead of his agitation, he is visiting various districts to garner support of the Maratha community.Fadnavis on Tuesday said the state govt will not succumb to any pressure. “It is govt’s responsibility to listen to everyone. If any suggestion or demand is in the interest of the society and it is within the constitutional provisions, govt will accept it. However, the govt will never work under anybody’s pressure. I want to make it clear that the govt will continue to follow the constitution,” Fadnavis said while interacting with the media in Pune.Jarange recently accused state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule of secretly writing a letter to the caste scrutiny committee to invalidate some Kunbi certificates recently issued to the members of Maratha community. Fadnavis came to his cabinet colleague’s defence and said criticism against Bawankule is wrong.He said, “When any minister receives any complaint, it is his constitutional responsibility to conduct an inquiry of that complaint. The memorandum submitted to ministers are sent to respective departments and based on the records, evidence, decisions are taken. Bawankule has not done anything intentionally. Cornering him because he comes from the OBC community is not right. It does not go with the culture of our state.”Refuting the allegations of Jarange that the caste scrutiny committee invalidated Kunbi certificates based on Bawankule’s letter, Fadnavis said, “The committee is a quasi-judicial body and it is not answerable to the govt. It takes its own decision. If anyone is unhappy with its decision, they can approach the appellate authority.”Reacting to Sunday’s agitation in Pune, Ahilyanagar and Nashik districts where protesters demanded the Centre to restore the original alignment of the Pune-Nashik railway line, Fadnavis said study in this regard is being conducted. “Even before the agitation, govt has set up a committee led by Anil Kakodkar in which a member of the railway board is also part of it. The committee is studying the potential impact on the GMRT (at Khodad). The committee is studying the alignment where a railway line can be set up without any adverse impact on the observatory,” Fadnavis said.
